Law Firm Resources & News

Good doctors get sued sometimes, but bad doctors get sued multiple times 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Good doctors get sued sometimes, but bad doctors get sued multiple times

This week I read about a doctor in our area who was sued four times in 1 calendar year. My friends Russ Updike and Nolan Nicely (of Covington Virginia) represent the families who were victims of this physician. Peter Vieth, attorney and writer for Virginia Lawyers Weekly (a weekly lawyer newspaper) writes in the article title Ex-Virginia…

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“Hey Doctor, How Many Times Have You Performed this Surgery?” 150 150 Dan Frith

“Hey Doctor, How Many Times Have You Performed this Surgery?”

Doesn’t it just make common sense that the more times someone performs a specific task, requiring some degree of skill, that they will get better at performing the task? I certainly think so and a recent article on surgical outcomes proves the point. The article appears in Health magazine and was written by Kathryn Doyle. …

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Cameras in Nursing Homes: A Good Idea 150 150 Dan Frith

Cameras in Nursing Homes: A Good Idea

I have blogged on this topic before.  The use of hidden cameras in nursing homes to “catch” bad guys neglecting or abusing the elderly is a damn good use of technology.  My home state of Virginia has guidelines for the use of hidden cameras which protect patient privacy yet expose staff (and sometimes other residents)…

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Ask for the policies and procedures when your loved one is in a Virginia nursing home 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Ask for the policies and procedures when your loved one is in a Virginia nursing home

Sometimes, law makers do act with a desire to protect the public. Through Virginia law does not have laws that address staffing in nursing homes (meaning the number of patients one nurse or CNA can serve), there are written rules and laws that affect how licensed nursing homes should be providing care. One of the…

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Virginia adopts long-term care rules 150 150 Dan Frith

Virginia adopts long-term care rules

I read in today’s Roanoke Times an article reporting action taken by the State Corporation Commission to reduce the burden of ever increasing premiums on long-term care insurance policies.  This is a great idea.  A study conducted by Virginia’s Bureau of Insurance revealed state regulators approved 82 long-term rate increases sought by 33 insurance companies…

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Pharmacists against execution thankfully also against negligent manufacturing practices that killed innocent Virginians 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Pharmacists against execution thankfully also against negligent manufacturing practices that killed innocent Virginians

This morning the American Pharmacist Association (motto – Improving Medication Use. Advancing Patient Care) published a Policy and Position Paper discouraging pharmacists from creating the drug cocktails used by states in executions. Their reasoning, which I think makes sense, “Pharmacists are health care providers and pharmacist participation in executions conflicts with the profession’s role on…

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Amazon does the right thing with non-competes 150 150 Dan Frith

Amazon does the right thing with non-competes

Kudo’s to Amazon (but they had to be shamed into it).  Business Insider reports that Amazon, which employs over 88,000 workers world-wide, plans to remove “non-compete” clauses from its employment contracts for US workers paid by the hour.  By signing the non-compete agreement, workers pledged not to:   …engage in or support the development, manufacture, marketing, or…

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LewisGale Hospital pay $1 Million to settle Malpractice Suit 150 150 Dan Frith

LewisGale Hospital pay $1 Million to settle Malpractice Suit

The front page headline in today’s Roanoke Times read, “LewisGale paid $1M to Settle Death Lawsuit.”  I was interested in the article for two reasons. First, my law firm handles medical malpractice cases in Virginia and are currently suing, and have sued, Lewis Gale Medical Center, an Hospital Corporation of America hospital, and its affiliates. …

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How to file a complaint about a nursing home 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

How to file a complaint about a nursing home

I am grateful we live in a country where consumers have a choice of the products and services they buy. Occasionally, you may live in a rural or remote part of the country where you only have a few choices – one car dealer, one dentist, one grocery store, one nursing home. So what do…

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Loss of a child – is the doctor at fault? 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Loss of a child – is the doctor at fault?

There isn’t anything worse than losing a child. And it doesn’t matter when it happens – it rips your heart out and is hard to recover. In fact, it is hard to even breathe after it happens. And in many circumstances, nothing could have prevented the loss. No test, no medication, no early induction or…

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Hospital Surveys and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital 150 150 Dan Frith

Hospital Surveys and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital

It seems to me that every few months some publication comes out with its “Top 10” list for something…restaurants, doctors, lawyers, hotels, beaches, etc. I guess we should take such articles with a grain of salt. My local hospital, Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, is quick to promote the results of surveys which give it high…

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How to plan so Medicaid can pay for your loved one’s nursing home. 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

How to plan so Medicaid can pay for your loved one’s nursing home.

The title of this blog is almost ironic. Medicaid, under Virginia law, will pay for the long term care of certain elderly patients who do not have the financial resources to pay for the needed care themselves. Amazingly, families with resources (homes, stocks, cars, and retirement plans) often assume that if they just re-title assets in…

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